Wednesday, April 4, 2018

Bhaskar Setti, a recreational player from Omaha, Nebraska, won last night his first WSOP Circuit gold ring. The player topped the field of a $365 No-Limit Hold’em Re-Entry event at Horseshoe Council Bluffs.

The tournament was supposed to be a two-day one, but Setti busted the last of his opponents just minutes before the end of the final level of Day 1. The player collected $10,838 for outlasting a 129-strong field.

Setti, originally from India but now residing in Nebraska, began playing poker about five years ago. He owns an IT firm in Omaha and plays the game only recreationally. In his post-victory interview with WSOP staff, the latest Circuit victor thanked his friend and poker mentor Yashveen Mudireddy, who taught him how to play. Mudireddy himself boasts a gold ring from the series.

Setti came into yesterday’s event fresh from a sixth-place finish in another $365 No-Limit Hold’em Re-Entry that took place at the host venue a few days ago. The player told WSOP staff that his wife did not know that he entered another tournament. However, he pointed out that his triumph will make her happy.

Highlights from Setti’s Performance at Horseshoe Council Bluffs

Setti entered the unofficial ten-handed final table of the event third in chips with a little over 200,000. However, the player lost more than a half of his stack shortly after the beginning of final table play.

Then he recovered to never look back. In his interview afterwards, the player recalled that he was “really fired up” at the time there were just four players left in contention. He went on to say that he felt really comfortable when the field was reduced to just a few fellow players. He attributed that to his cash games experience.

The final table of the $365 buy-in tournament was not short of former WSOP Circuit gold ring winners. Two-time gold ring winner Lee Rzentkowski, David Hangen, holder of one gold ring, and Jonathan Tamayo, who was vying for gold ring number five, were the three final tablists to have already entered the club of WSOP Circuit winners.

Eventually, Setti faced Henry Gingerich heads-up. Although Gingerich put up a good fight, the gold ring was not his to win. The player collected $6,697 for his efforts and deep run in the tournament.

The event drew a field of 129 entries. They created a prize pool of $38,770, which was split among those who occupied the top 15 positions, min-cashes starting from $653.

The event Setti won was the fifth on the schedule of the WSOP Circuit Horseshoe Council Bluffs stop. The festival will run through April 9. The $1,675 Main Event is also set to be completed on that day after four days of play. There are three more stops on the 2017/2018 schedule of the WSOP Circuit before the end of the season. Harrah’s Cherokee, Horseshoe Baltimore, and Harrah’s New Orleans will play host to these.